Circular Knitting

I finally tried my hand at circular knitting without using double point needles. I used two circular needles instead. It was slow getting set up, but after several rounds I finally got the hang of it. Hey, this is the best thing since sliced bread! It's so simple!!! I don't think I'll ever try using DPNs.

I completed my first knitting in the round, a little pink hat, using Sarah Bradberry's Family Watch Cap pattern. It was fun! It went so much quicker than cable or lace knitting. It feels great to actually complete something, ya know? It wasn't perfect though, I got the "ladder" effect on the ribbing. Fortunately it is not very noticeable because of the K1P1 ribbing. I'll have to improve my joining technique next time.

Yarn: Cleckheaton Country 8 Ply DK superwash wool, Pale Iris color. Used a little more than 1 ball.
Needle: 3.25 mm (US3) & 4.00 mm (US6)

Needle Inventory

I finally got around to doing an inventory of my Circular Needles. I didn't realize how many US1 needles I had! Looks like I could really use a US9 needle. The reason for so many duplicate sizes is that I need pairs of circs for knitting in the round (hats, socks), and I always have needles in use stuck on WIPs. Here's an enumeration of my Circular Needle collection (sorry, I can't figuure out how to get it to line up):

US Size mm Size Length inch Length cm
0 2 (1 of 2) 40 100
0 2 (2 of 2) 40 100
1 2.25 (1 of 2) 16 40.5
1 2.25 (2 of 2) 16 40.5
1 2.25 (1 of 5) 24 61
1 2.25 (2 of 5) 24 61
1 2.25 (3 of 5) 24 61
1 2.25 (4 of 5) 24 61
1 2.25 (5 of 5) 24 61
1 2.25 29 80
1 2.25 (1 of 5) 29 80
1 2.25 (2 of 5) 29 80
1 2.25 (3 of 5) 29 80
1 2.25 (4 of 5) 29 80
1 2.25 (5 of 5) 29 80
2 2.75 12
2 2.75 (1 of 2) 24 61
2 2.75 (2 of 2) 24 61
2 2.75 (1 of 4) 29 73.5
2 2.75 (2 of 4) 29 73.5
2 2.75 (3 of 4) 29 73.5
2 2.75 (4 of 4) 29 73.5
2 2.75 32 80
3 3.25 24 61
3 3.25 (1 of 2) 24 61
3 3.25 (2 of 2) 24 61
3 3.25 (1 of 4) 29 73.5
3 3.25 (2 of 4) 29 73.5
3 3.25 (3 of 4) 29 73.5
3 3.25 (4 of 4) 29 73.5
3 3.25 (1 of 4) 32 81
3 3.25 (2 of 4) 32 81
3 3.25 (3 of 4) 32 81
3 3.25 (4 of 4) 32 81
4 3.5 16 40.5
4 3.5 24 61
4 3.5 (1 of 3) 29 73.5
4 3.5 (2 of 3) 29 73.5
4 3.5 (3 of 3) 29 73.5
4 3.5 (1 of 3) 32 81
4 3.5 (2 of 3) 32 81
4 3.5 (3 of 3) 32 81
5 3.75 29 73.5
5 3.75 32 81
6 4 29 73.5
6 4 29 73.5
6 4 32 80
6 4 32 81
6 4 36 91.5
7 4.5 32 80
7 4.5 40 100
8 5 29 73.5
8 5 30
8 5 32 80
8 5 32 80
10 6 24 61
10 6 36
10.5 6.5 29 73.5
10.5 6.5 36
15 10 29 73.5

Started my first shawl

Here is the beginning of my Flower Basket Shawl. I have completed about 2 repeats. Unfortunately this picture doesn't really show off the pattern; I didn't have anyone handy to stretch out & hold the kniting while I took the picture. It's coming along nicely so far, except for that odd brobdingnagian YO hole ... it's the one along the top edge, about 3 baskets to the right of the Center Stitch. I have no idea how this YO became so much larger than all the rest. I'm hoping that this gaping hole will sort itself out when I wash & block the shawl. I am using Baby Cashmere yarn in Peacock color.

This is my largest & most complex project so far. It requires a lot of uninterrupted time so I can concentrate on it, so I'm making very slow progress. I'm hoping to finish this before the end of the year. I can't get over how this shawl is worked upside-down. I always have to turn it around to look at the pattern. And I think this upside-down-ness makes it more difficult for me to "read" and anticipate the next patteern stitches while I'm knitting it.

I have found that using stitch markers and lifelines have saved my sanity. I have not had to rip back as frequently since implementing these two aids. It is a tremendous help to put markers between each 10-stitch repeat. All I need to do is count the stitches at the end of each repeat & fix any probs before moving on to the next repeat. I also count my stitches when I reach the end of the row, making sure there are the same number of stitches on either side of the Center Stitch. And I have since learned to pick up missed YOs while purling across the next row; that is such a neato mosquito trick! Would you believe I used to knit backwards to the point where I made my boo boo? I am also no longer getting my knitting caught up through my stitch markers. Switching to split-ring markers has helped. :)

My first dishcloth

I completed my very first dishcloth a couple weeks ago using Grandmother's Favorite dishcloth pattern. I used Lily Sugar & Cream cotton yarn in strawberry color (I think that's what it was called).

There seems to be something wrong with my knitting. I started on the lower left corner and ended at the upper right corner. It looks like YO holes in the first half of the dish cloth (left & bottom sides) are smaller than the YO holes in the second half of the dish cloth (top & right sides). Hmm...

Ring marker woes

I can't believe I've done this TWICE! I've somehow managed to get my yarn knit "through" my closed-ring marker. I thought I was careless the first time around. Now I've discovered that I've done it AGAIN! And this time I was very careful too. How did this happen?

I'm working on the Flower Basket Shawl and have a closed-ring marker before and after the Center Stitch. There is a YO before the first marker and a YO after the second marker. So it looks like this: YO - Marker - Center Stitch - Marker - YO. I suspect that there's something about those YOs that caused the yarn to go THROUGH the Marker while I was knitting the next row above (purl across). I just can't figure how it happened though. :( Any ideas?

You can see two strands of yarn going through the ring marker on the right side.